PITTSBURGH — Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez broke his right thumb when he was hit by a pitch during Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Suarez, who entered leading the Reds in RBIs, winced after a pitch from Jameson Taillon caught him on the right hand leading off the fourth inning. Suarez was tended to by trainers before taking first base, then was replaced in the bottom of the inning by Cliff Pennington. There was no immediate word on how long Suarez will be out.

“I knew it was probably going to miss some time, when we went out and inspected it,” Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said. “Immediately half the nail was turning different colours and there was bleeding around the thumb. I didn’t anticipate the thumb being broken.”

Suarez is a vital part of Cincinnati’s rebuilding process. The Reds signed him to a $66 million, seven-year contract in March. The 26-year-old has been one of the few bright spots in Cincinnati’s tough start. He hit a three-run home run to complete a comeback win over the Pirates on Saturday night.

Instead of going to Philadelphia with the rest of the team, he will head to Cincinnati to be re-examined. Price said the Reds will turn to Pennington or Phil Gosselin to fill in while Suarez recovers on the disabled list.

“There’s no way to sugarcoat it,” Price said. “He’s a big part of our ballclub. Looks like he was starting to warm up at the plate.”